Improvement in railroad-station indicators



tion, in perspective,

`means of two galleries of UNITED STATES PATENT .TEIOE 4 JOSEPHBELL-ALEXANDER, or WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAlLRoAD-STATION lND'loA-rons.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 112,671, dated March14, 1871.

p drawing and the letters of reference marked thereon, to be a full,clear, and exact description ofthe same, andwhich said drawingconstitutes part of this specification, and represents, in

Figure `l, afront elevation of the indicator, the face-plate and one ofthe gibs being removed, so as to show the internal arrangement of parts;Fig. 2, an Outline, in perspective, showing the form of the side piecesof the indicator; Fig. 3, an elevation of the mainv pulley, with itscams, ratchets, and accompanying` pawls, the front supporting-plate and`front `crank-,wheel being removed; Fig. 4,a

vertical section of the indicator at dotted line `A, showing thearrangement'of the cards,

grooves, gibs, springs, and sliders at the moment when a card has beenpushed up at the front and another card` pushed down at the back of themachine; Fig. 5,a vertical section of the indicator at dotted line B;Fig. 6, an outline, showing the form of the sliders; Fig. 7 a detachedoard,`in perspective; Fig. 8, a longitudinal vertical section ot' astreet-railway car, showing the indicator as attached internallyat oneend of the car, and connected, bymeans of wires or chains, withapparatus attached to thebottom of the car, beneath the door, for thepurpose of automatic movement; Fig. 9, a transverse vertical section ofthe preceding figure; and in Fig. 10, an elevashowing the support of thelower pulley and rack, one half of the support being removed ment. J I

The nature of my invention consists in indieating to passengers within arailway-car the streets, stations," publio'buildings, and places of noteaseach is successivelyapproached, by

ranged in a machine, which will, when oper- 4atedlbyhand orautomatically, slide a card Aas to agree in width with the side todisplay the arrange printed cards arfrom one gallery upon the other, soasV to pre-l sent the name ofthe street or place to be indicated at anaperture in the face-place of the machine, and which action may becontinued indefinitely, either directly or reversely, as required, bymeans of the mechanical devices and arrangements for the said purpose,as herein described. f

Similar letters or figures of reference denote like parts wherever theyoccur in the accompanying drawing.

I should prefer to make the frame of the indicator, in the devicerepresented, of cast-iron, in parts suitably planed up and fitted so asto go together squarely and form the frame, as represented by C, D, O',and Din Fig. l.

The top piece, D, and the bottom piece, D', are thin at castings, planedlon the edges so pieces, C and C,fwhen the gibs Q and Q are screwed uponthem, `D and D being cut away at the ends to allow the ends oi' Q and Qto lie flush in them.

Gand G', as seen in Fig. 2, are squared up Vinto proper width,thickness, and length.

The rabbets t and t are made tocorrespond in depth with the thickness ofthe brass mountings-of the ends of the cards U and U'. (See Fig. 7.)Also, the rabbetss and s' are made deep enough to support the ends ofthe supporting-plates Kand K, so that the crankwheels L and L', lyingoutside of and upon the plates K and K, shall allow the sliders Nand'N', resting on the rabbets tand t', to slide up or down freely overthem.

The transverse grooves w and fw' are cut out smoothly,of sufcient widthto admit of the free passage of the brass-mounted'ends of the cards Uthrough them.

On the inner face of the partition fv, very near thefront and backedges, two small holes are drilled, as journals for the ends of the wireaxles P and P', upon which axles smallbrass pulleys x and w are madefast at about onei'ourth the length from each end of the axles. rlheseaxles should be of spring-steel wire, and made to turn freely.

The main pulley E (see Figs. 1, 3, and 5) is divided at or about thecenter by the raised partition b. The part a receives the chain F,

fastened strongly and centrally into the top of the pulley by the pin1'. The pulley is journaled into two strong plates of wrought-iron, Kand K', between which and near their ends the pawls `faudf' are attachedloosely to axles, around which the spiral springs g and g' wind and bearupon the pawls, so as to press them downward and inward. On the frontportion of the main pulley the narrow surface of the space is dividedinto a ring, c, which is broken at the top by the projecting cam e, andturned suddenly inward on both sides at a point on a horizontal line alittle below the center of the pulley. In front of c the circle d is ofa less diameter, and notched into ratchet-teeth about one-quarter of thecircumference each way, the object of this arrangement being to preventthe return of the pulley to equilibrium, when once moved either to rightor left, until the complete stroke is made.

When in operation, if the pulley E should be turned to the right, thepawl f would catch in the teeth of the ring d until the last tooth wasreached, when the beak of the pawl, tinding the side of c no longer inthe way, jumps oft' from the ratchet d, and, mounting the ring c, allowsthe pulley to return to equilibrium, when the cam e throws off the beakof the pawl, and it falls down upon thetop of d again. If the pulley beturned to the left, the same movement takes place with the pawl j".

This arrangement eft'eetuall y prevents any derangement of the cards Uand U by the catching of other cards by the sliders N and N before thefirst-engaged cards are pushed entirely home. y

K and K' are strong wrought-iron plates, (See Figs. l, 3, and 5,) whichform journals for the support ot' the main pulley E, and are attached atthe ends to the rabbets s and s' of the side pieces, G and C', by thescrews a and u. L and L' are wheels, formed of wroughtiron plate, andare attached rmly by screws o and o' to the ends of the axle of thecast-iron main pulley E. They have a small steel pulley, M, which turnsupon a steel pin xed solidly into the wheel at a proper distance fromthe center, and act as cranks to impel the sliders N and N up or down. Nand N' (see Figs. 6, 5, 4, and l) are sliders, of steel or wrought-ironplate, formed in shape as in Fi g.h

6, and of the same thickness as the brass mounting on the ends of thecards U and U', and slide up or down in the rabbets tand t'.

The long notches forming the narrow parts q q' must exactly agree inwidth with the narrow parts ot' the rabbets t and t' of the side pieces,C and C', at the transverse grooves w and w'.

The points marked i' and o" of the sliders are squarely cut on the end,and,when moved, impinge upon the metal-mounted ends of the cards U orIT', and force them up or down from one gallery to the other.

In the upward movement the parts r' must fully reach the line of theupper surface of the partition r, and in the downward movement the partsr must fully reach the line of the lower surface of the partition o, andthereby secure the complete transmission of a card from one gallery tothe other.

The slots O and O' of the sliders must receive, and allow to work freelyin them, the pulleys M.

Q, and Q.' are gibs, of smooth metal plate, which hold the sliders N andN in place, allowing them to move freely, and are attached to the planesu of the side pieces, C and C', by the screws y and y.

The narrow parts ofthe gibs Q, and Q' must extend in width sufficient-lyto cover about one-halt' of the metal mountings of the cards U and U',the other halt being impinged upon by the springs S and S', riveted onthe gibs and pressing downward through the slots T and T'. These springsare bent in the manner represented in Fig. 4., and each one must havepower to push back the entire column of cards in the gallery it impingesupon when the resista-nce of its antagonist is for a moment removed.

The main body of the indicator so far described may have a face-plate,with an aperture admitting the appearance of one card only, (as seen inFig. 9,) screwed onto the front, when the machine is intended to beattached to the end of a car; but a similar plate may be screwed on theback (making really two fronts) when the machine is to be placedcentrally in a car, so as to present the same name in the apertures ofboth ways. In such case the cards must be printed on both sides, and insuch manner as always to Colne right at the apertures when moved orchanged.

H, Figs. l, 5, S, and 9, is a box or tubular projection intended todescend to the bottom of the car, and through which the chains l and Z'lie and move. The upper part of this box is provided with partitions Iand I', to confine the spiral springs It and R'. These spiral springshave caps Z, Z, Z', and Z' attached at the ends, and through the centerof each is a hole just admitting the free passage of the wire rods Itand h', which are connected with the chain F above, and with the chain jbelow, which chain is somewhat larger in diameter than the rods h and h;and the passage-holes for the chain F in the plate bottom D', and ofthose in the bottoms ot' the partitions l and l' for the chain j, beingsufficient for the free passage of -those chains, as a consequence nomovement can take place with those chains without contracting the spiralsprings It and R', the one upward and the other downward, or vice versa.

The chain F being attached to the top of the pulley E, and the chain jbeing attached to the bottom of the pulley G by the pin K, it is obviousthat any movement of those pulleys to the right or left will contractthe spiral springs R and l', which will immediately, if unobstructed,return to equilibrium, thus bringing always the sliders N and N', whenat rest,

\ ward.

` supportVV.

at a point from whicmh they may immediately act upon the cards eitherupward or4 down- J i is a brace between the partitions I and I for thereception of screws which attach a cover` to the box H, and which coverforms, with the back of H, supports for the pulley Gr, into which it isjournaled.

The black square in the center of the pulley G represents a hole, inwhich an angular key- `shank may be inserted for settingor working themachine by hand.

The pin m, inserted in 'the top of the pulley G, Figs. 1 and 5, formsthe attachment of the descending` chains` Z and l', which, passingdownward through an aperture in the bottom of thecar, (see Figs. 8 and9,) are attached to the bottom of the lower pulley, 8. (See, also, Fig.10.)

6 and 7 are small pulleys to bring the chains landt into line witheachother.

The pulley 8 has a pinion at one end, which is worked by a rack on theend of a wroughtiron rod or bar, the Whole being supportedby acast-ironcase, 5, bolted onto the bottom of the car. The other or inner end ofthis bar passes the longitudinal center of the car and rests or slidesin a support, 4, bolted to the bottom of the car. This support mustadmit of some upward'play ofthis end of the bar.

` directly over the center of the axle X when the bar is at equilibrium.This bar is propelled backward or` forward by a notched lever, Z, whichrises perpendicularly from. the axle X, the notch of the lever fittingthe notch in the bar 2. The axleX is journaled into a long apron, V, byone end, and into a shorter apron or support, W, by the other end. Aspiral spring, 1, of sufficient strength, surrounds this axle at theend, entering the short This spiral spring 1 ha-s one of its ends madefast to the support W, the other end 'being madefast to the axle X;consequently,

it' the lever Z be pushed backward or forward, it must, by the agency ofthe spiral spring 1, return to its vertical equilibrium whennotobstructed. Y is another lever, descending from the axle X in a lineperpendicular to that of the lever Z. This lever Y hangs immediatelyover the outside of theouter edge of the rail 10, and its lower end,when the car is empty, should run about three inches above the top ofthe rail. This lever is operated, when the car is in"motion, by an irontrip, 9, which rises just outside of the rail to the height of aboutfour inches above the'top of the rail. This trip should be highest inthe center and slope awayto both ends, and should be located at suchexact points on the road as the automatic action of the indicator isrequired.

The apron V should be of wrought-iron plate of sufficient strength, andshould descend from the bottom of the car closely outside of the leverY, which is journaled intoit to the same depth that the lever Ydescends, so as to form i nected with it.

Vand key, when required.

The card (see Fig. 7 should be of, good stift', springy, whitecard-board. It should be cut into slips of a proper length and width.Slips of sheet-brass or iron-sheet must be struck onto each end of thecard, which may be printed Vupon ,before or after such mounting. TheIcards when complete must all bc of a standard length and breadth andthickness at the mountings. the starting-point from which the indicatoris `to be made up, as from the determined length of the cards, and thebreadth, width, and thick- The card thus perfected is really ness oftheir mountings, must be determined the actual size of the indicator andevery piece `of machinery connected with it.

The indicator is operated bythe movement of the cars over the track. Thetrips (see 9, Figs. 8 and 9) are located on the track near eachcross-street, publicbuilding, or notable' place to be passed.

`In passing each one of these trips the lever Y, sliding over the top ofthe trip, is turnedV backward, thus turning the lever Z with` itsnotched upper end forward, which carries with it forward the rack-bar,which, engaging theteeth ofthe pinion on pulley 8, causes it to turnjust one-quarter of its circumference. This quarter-revolution of pulley8 when the car is empty will not be increased by a loaded car, for theloaded car, bringing the lever Y nearer nto the top of the rail, willonly cause the notch of the upper lever, Z, to pass out of the notch 2of the rack-bar and reenter it again when relieved from the trip, as thespiral spring lon the axle X will always restore vequilibrium to all themachinery con- Thus a car moving forward in one direction will cause onefull stroke of the indicator for every trip passed over, and the samecar returning will reverse all it did in the same manner.

. The pulleys 8, Gr, and E, must all be of the same diameter, so thatwhen a quarter-revolution of pulleyS is made the same is transmitted bythe chains l and Z,tl1rough pulley G, to pulley E inside of theindicator.

The sliders N and N being driven up or down from their equilibrium bythe little steel pul leys M, and these little pulleys being set to actin opposition, it is obvious that when the slider N goes up the slider Nwill go down,

or vice versa.

If the slider N pushes a card from the lower l gallery to the upper, theslider N must at the same moment p-ull down a card from the upperthemovement of the sliders be continued inw.

one direction by as many :impulses as there are cards in the machine, acomplete rotation of all the cards will have been accomplished, whichmay be as completely reversed by reversing the action of the machine.

The peculiar arrangement of eight springs, (marked S and S',) four ofwhich are shownin Fig. 4, is to vibrate the two entire galleries ofcards backward or forward in opposition to each other. Then the machineis in equilibrium these springs S, S', S", and S"' merely hold eachgallery ot' cards suspended between them. Now, it' the slider N movesupward, its batting-point o" will raise its spring S', while at the samemoment the point r of slider N' will raise its spring S". In consequenceot' this the spring S will press the entire upper column of cardsbackward or to the right, while the spring S"' will press the entirelower column of cards forward or to the left. Slider N will then,continuing its upward course, push a card from the front of the lowergallery up under the spring S to the front of the upper gallery, whileslider N' pushes a card from the back of the upper gallery down underspring S"' to the back of the lower gallery. The complete stroke beingmade and the sliders returned to equilibrium, the reverse action may bemade.

Having described my invention, I do not claim the presenting of thenames of streets or stations at an aperture in front of a box, as thatis old. I am `also aware that linked cards and various othermodifications of the old printed band of cloth or paper moving uponrollers has been made. I am also aware that station-indicators placedinside of railway-cars have been worked automatically by means ot' abeveled projection placed centrallg or within the track-way acting on aroller at the lower end of a vertically-moving rod. I am also aware thatindicators have been made to reverse their indications bothautomatically and by hand. All of which principles being old, I claimnone of them, broadly.

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. The combination ot the slider N with the springs S, S', S", and S'",as arranged in the box-frame C, C', D, and D', for the purpose ofindicating streets, stations, names, or numbers by means of separateprinted cards operated in continuous rotation either directly orreversely, substantially as described and set forth.

2. The combination of the pulley E with the pawlsfand f', chain F,spiral springs R and It', and with the crank-wheels L and L',substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination of the indicator above described with thesetting-pulley Gr, substantially as described, and for the purpose setforth.

4. rlhe combination of' the chains l and Z', the pulley and pinion S,rack 3, bar 4 and 3, with its notch 2, forked lever Z, lever Y, axle X,with its spiral spring 1, and the trip 9, as arranged, substantially asdescribed, and for the purpose set forth.

J. B. ALEXANDER.

Witnesses F. A. LEHMANN, T. C. CoNNoLLY.

